UAE-backed STC challenges Saudi Arabia, sets “zero hour”

ADEN, Jan. 15 (YPA) – The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) issued a call on Thursday for a massive public mobilization tomorrow, Friday, at Al-Aroudh Square in Aden city, southern Yemen.

This escalatory move aims to demonstrate popular strength in response to recent political and military shifts in the region.

The call was issued during a meeting of the Council’s General Secretariat, acting on directives from its president, Aidarous al-Zubaidi—whose current location remains shrouded in mystery.

The Secretariat emphasized that this rally serves as an official declaration of the STC’s categorical rejection of “exclusionary policies” or the imposition of what it termed “Saudi guardianship” over the southern provinces, signaling a direct challenge to recent arrangements led by Riyadh.

These developments place Aden in a highly sensitive position, as the STC utilizes “Friday’s Rally” to send internal and regional messages that it remains an indispensable actor in any upcoming political equation.

On Wednesday, media outlets affiliated with the STC circulated a call by al-Zubaidi to rally in Aden in support of the so-called “constitutional declaration” and to demand the release of the southern delegation detained in Riyadh since last week.

YPA